The Hobbits' Cooking Guild

[Morwenna]

OK, it's time to bump this thread again with another holiday goodie!

A year ago, for Beltaine/May Day over at church, I baked some cookies using ingredients suggested on a few websites, and to do so I found a recipe at home that I tweaked a little bit, and they went over well, so I decided to do it again this year. I didn't post it before now because I wanted to tweak it some more first. So this is finally what I came up with.

Beltaine Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey
3 cups oats
1/2 to 1 cup dried cherries

Combine flour, baking soda, nutmeg, salt. Beat together butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, honey. Gradually add flour mixture, mix. Stir in oats and cherries.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-8 min. for chewy [read soft] or 9-10 min. for crisp [actually, just chewy enough and almost crisp]. That's for drop cookies.
Or make into bar cookies in a 15"x10" pan for 18-22 min.

Last year I used less nutmeg, I was just guessing at the honey, and we turned out not to have any dried cherries at the time (we never run out of dried fruit!) so I made the cookies without, and pressed candied cherries into the top while they were still hot and soft enough. But they're better this way.

I made these this year with a half cup cherries; hubby thinks it would be better with a full cup. To each his taste.

[heliona]

They sound really yummy, Morwenna.

I've discovered no-churn ice cream (I don't have an ice cream maker, nor the room for one). I was looking for recipes to use up my mint that was growing furiously, and whilst investigating sorbet recipes (I made a mint sorbet - it was delicious) I came across no-churn ice cream.

Intrigued, I thought I'd give it a go. As I had some bananas, a recipe for banana and salted caramel swirl ice cream appealed to me instantly.

Here's the recipe (courtesy of Citrus and Candy:

Ingredients

For the salted caramel sauce

100g caster sugar
125ml pure cream or light thickened cream (35% fat content) [for the Brits, double cream is fine]
15g butter
1/2 tsp sea salt flakes (adjust to your personal taste)

For the ice cream

2 super ripe bananas
250ml pure cream [again, I used double cream]
195g sweetened condensed milk (half a 395g tin)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

For the caramel

In a heavy-based pan over low heat, add the sugar in an even layer then leave to melt into an amber-coloured caramel. Meanwhile, heat up the cream gently in a separate pan and keep warm.
Keep a watchful eye because it doesn’t take long for caramel to burn. You want to cook this until it’s a darkish brown golden colour. Too light and it’ll just be a sickly sweet flavoured caramel. You want to take this a few notches before the burnt stage to have a lovely sweet smokey caramel with the slightest hint of bitterness.
When it’s ready, take it off the heat and add the warmed cream. It’ll bubble up furiously so be careful. When that settles, stir through the butter.
The caramel may seize and harden but no worries. Just stick it back over the low heat and stir gently until everything has melted into a luscious sauce. Stir through the salt to taste then allow to cool completely.

[I need to add here that I ended up with one lump in middle of all the sauce that turned out to be where most of the salt was. (I hadn't used flakes as I couldn't find any.) So I would suggest keeping the caramel on a low heat whilst you stir the salt in for a good while to ensure that it all dissolves instead of just binding in one great big lump!]

For the ice cream

In a food processor or by hand, mash up the bananas until smooth (feel free to leave it more chunky if you wish).
Meanwhile whisk the cream until soft peaks then gently fold through the condensed milk and vanilla until mostly combined. Fold through the banana mash.
Scrape half the batter into a loaf tin (or any container you wish - I used an old ice cream container). Dollop in the cooled caramel then swirl through the ice cream mixture. Add the remaining ice cream over the top then swirl through more caramel to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.

[You need to make sure the that plastic wrap is on top of the ice cream, leaving as little air gaps as possible as it stops crystalisation. My caramel was a bit thick, which made swirling it a wee bit difficult, but there was still the desired effect. I think I whipped my cream for slightly too long, but the ice cream still came out tasting lovely.]

Here's the finished result with some warmed up waffles.

[Morwenna]

Wow! That sounds great! (Salted caramel... mmmm... )

Somewhere in my mother's recipes are two ice-tray ice cream recipes, one for maple and one for strawberry. We never had an ice-cream maker either. We had the maple one way back when I was very little (or maybe before I was born), and the strawberry one came when I was around 12; we loved them both and had them several times every summer. I've never tried making them myself; I'd have to find them first!

[Hwesta]

Hello Everyone!
I posted a recipe over on Middle-Aged Crazy and Morwenna invited me to post it here as well. I hope you all enjoy it.
Hwesta

Chicken Soup with Too Much Garlic

1 chicken, cut up (or use less chicken for a smaller batch)
Chicken broth (I use Swanson's) or water or chicken broth and water to cover
I carrot, grated
1-3 stalks celery (depending on how much you like celery), finely chopped
1 - 2 large onions, chopped (depending on how much onion you like)
Pinch of caraway seeds
1 - 5 bulbs garlic (depends on how much you like garlic)
1-3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp - 1 T Sea salt or to taste
Lots of Fresh ground pepper or to taste (I sometimes use lemon pepper for part of the pepper)
2 - 3 cups of fresh button mushrooms, chopped.(optional)
Small bunch of fresh Italian parsley, the flat leaved kind (optional)
Pasta, any shape (optional)

Put chicken pieces in a large stock pot and add chicken broth or water or broth and water to cover. Add carrot, celery, onion, caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Finely mince the cloves of one bulb of garlic and add to the pot. Bring to a low boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
Skim off the froth if you have the time and the inclination.
Let cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is very tender and falling off the bones. (I don't know how long this takes! A couple of hours, maybe?)
Remove the chicken and bones to a large bowl. Set aside to cool.
Finely mince the cloves from a second bulb of garlic and add to soup.
Add mushrooms if using.
Return to a simmer.
Take 1 - 3 remaining bulbs of garlic and roast them. Set oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet (one with rims around the edge) with aluminum foil. Take each garlic bulb and slice off the top. Set on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Use the aluminum foil to make a sort of tent above the garlic. Roast in oven for 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
Carefully debone the chicken. Chop up the chicken into bite sized pieces and add back to the simmering broth.
Add the chopped parsley, if desired.
Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the individual cloves of garlic and add to soup. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Add pasta in the last 10 - 12 minutes.
Check to see if additional salt or pepper is needed.
Serve it forth!

The quick version is to start with a rotisserie chicken. Bone the chicken and add to the broth that you have prepared.
If you are concerned about the fat content (and aren't we all?) allow the soup to cool and refrigerate. The next day you will be able to remove the layer of chicken fat that solidifies on top.

[Morwenna]

Hubby did something new a couple weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting it...

Cabbage & Potato Soup

1 lb. bacon, chopped & rendered
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
2 qts chicken stock
Onion, chopped & sweated, as much as desired (also garlic)
Seasonings: cumin, paprika, cayenne, to taste
I small head or 1/2 large head of cabbage, chopped in rough cubes
Simmer for awhile, then add:
Potatoes, quartered, skin on, as many as you like
Cook until potatoes are done.

This lasted the two of us the better part of a week; I was taking it to work for lunches as well. The older it gets the better!

[Arassuil]

I have to say that the baked beans that Jamie Oliver makes are the best I've had!
This recipe is from his book 15 Minute Meals

Smoky Baked Beans

• 2 x 400g tins of mixed beans
• 350g passata
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 2 Tablespoon HP sauce (Brown BBQish ketchup)
• 1 teaspoon runny honey
• 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard, plus extra to serve
• 40g Cheddar cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9.
2. Drain and rinse the beans and put into a medium frying pan with the 2 Tablespoons of oil to fry and crisp up.
3. Stir the remaining ingredients (except the cheese) in a bowl.
4. Add the mixed ingredients to the beans pan and bring to the boil.
5. Grate the Cheddar Cheese over the top of the beans, and place in the oven until golden and sizzling.

[Morwenna]

I'm bumping this thread to ask:

Anyone have any holiday recipes to share?

[Morwenna]

Oh come on--doesn't ANYBODY have any holiday recipes to share???

[Morwenna]

Bumping as usual...

This isn't even a holiday, but I throw this idea out to anyone. Hubby makes a killer stuffing every Thanksgiving (or around that time), and for the last few years he's put the bulk of it into a loaf pan and baked it along with the stuffed bird. We eat what's in the bird while we have the bird, but the loaf gets put into the freezer for when we have turkey during the year. He calls it "bird-day cake." Anyway, sometimes we get a deal on boneless turkey breasts, and there's the stuffing already made. A slice or two of stuffing, a couple slices meat, and a little canned gravy = dinner! (Well, add veggies as desired...) We're doing that right now.

[Morwenna]

Bumping Again For The Holiday Season!! Anyone have anything to share??

[Arassuil]

It's not a holiday, but it is cool here, so a nice roast may be in order.
Do you prefer hot roast beef or cold roast beef?

[Morwenna]

Hot, of course. Are you speaking of pot roast or oven roast? (Both are yummy!) Pot: chuck roast or shoulder roast. Oven: standing rib roast!

Anyway, lately hubby's been making grilled cheese, tomato & bacon sandwiches, which is a quickie derivative of the open-faced sandwiches my mother used to make a zillion times every summer. It ran as follows:

Broiled Tomato, Cheese & Bacon Sandwiches

Toast bread on one side; slather the other side with mayo or dressing. Upon this, stack in order: tomato slices, cheese slice, strips of partially cooked bacon (the strip kind like we have in the US). Broil till cheese melts. Enjoy!

[Arassuil]

Hi Morwenna! Those sangers look yummerz! I may have to try this!

As for my roast, I get a rib filet from the butcher and roast it, then cut it up and use it with various dips.

[Morwenna]

I never thought of dips for beef, though I know of their existence. What do you use?

[Arassuil]

I never thought of dips for beef, though I know of their existence. What do you use?

I usually make some Garlic Aioli and some Mustard Aioli using a really good quality mayonaise for both.

[Morwenna]

Oh, those do sound good. I suppose one could use them for a sandwich condiment just as well? Think of the classy burgers those would make!

[Morwenna]

BUMP!!

It's been almost 3 years since there's been any activity here (mostly mine) so I'm calling out to all you cooks and would-be cooks and appreciators of cooks: come share your recipes and techniques! Come ask questions! Isn't it really all about the food??

[Herger]

I like food. I'm not a particularly skilled cook, but I definitely like food.

[Morwenna]

Same here, actually. I can cook but I married a man who always loved to cook, and when he first moved in with me he was getting home from work over an hour before me and I would come home to hot food on the table. Did you think I would give that up?? And my mother was a very good cook too, in fact I compare her cooking and my husband's a lot; too bad they never got the chance to know each other better because they'd have had a great time swapping techniques.

I really need to get back into cooking, though. I do bake every so often (nowhere nearly as often as my mother used to), but I really need to start making actual main dishes again. It's been way too long.